Dark Elves
Once amongst the most magically advanced peoples in the world, the Dark Elves have been reduced to little more than slaves who live for no purpose other than to be at the High Elves' beck and call. The Dark Elves were originally among the many elven city-states of Elthinien, ruling over the great city of Ylthenin. among whom they rose up to become paragons of virtue and strength. As their great power, and the beauty of their cities grew, they began to grow restless- for it was said that once one of the elven kingdoms proved themselves worthy, their mother-goddess would reach out and guide them to the Eternal Land, where they would prosper for eternity. But the mother-goddess remained silent. And so they reached out to her, demanding to know why she had not yet shown them the way. And she told them that they were not yet ready. As their pride crumbled, the enraged elves of Ylthenin constructed a great fleet and sailed west, determined to find the Eternal Land on their own. Angry that they had chosen to defy her, the mother-goddess cursed them with a hideous appearance, turning their skin to ashen hues and making them appear old and haggard. Further enraged by their godess' punishment, the elves of Ylthenin cursed the goddess and denounced her for eternity, swearing that her name would be forgotten by all their children. Realising too late what her punishment would do, the mother-godess left the people of Ylthenin, now the Dark Elves, to their own devices, swearing to herself to be more lenient with her children. The newly created Dark Elves continued their voyage, too ashamed of their hideous appearance to return to Elthinien. They eventually found the Heartlands, choosing to settle down and rebuild their civilization there. But their journey was full of hardship, and they were harassed by drakes and trolls that inhabited the regions through which they ventures. Eventually, they found an area where the land was fertile, and they believed they could live in relative safety. There, they carved out a home for themselves within the mountains and deep places, choosing to live in darkness so that they would no longer have to witness their hideous appearance, calling their new homeland Ylfahl. It didn't take long for the the native empire of the Fomorians to take notice, switfly sending envoys to make contact with the newcomers. A trade relationship was quickly established between the two, as the Fomorians realised that these subterrenean dwellers would be useful as a source of stone and ore. Over time, their relationship developed further and they became allies, before ultimately, the Dark Elves joined their empire of their own volition, standing as the Fomorians' equals, even if low in numbers, and their homeland was made a partially self-governing province. The Fomorians shared their magical knowledge with the Dark Elves, who quickly mastered the art and proved themselves even more adept at the magical arts than their allies, making them an invaluable asset in further research of magic and the creation of powerful artifacts. The golden age was not to last however, as the High Elves soon came to the continent, searching for the utopian land to which their mother-goddess had guided the Antilosians, and came into conflict with the Fomorians. With the new arrivals already on friendly terms with the dwarves, and the dwarves already a historical enemy of the Fomorians, it didn't take long before all-out war broke out, with the Dwarves and High Elves on one side, and the Fomorians and Dark Elves on the other. The war lasted for nearly a century, with many periods of peace intercepting the conflict. Ultimately however, the Fomorians and Dark Elves suffered a crushing defeat in what would be known as the Battle of Red Hills, a final confrontation in which both sides brought to bear every scrap of military force they had remaining. The battle earned the region the name, the Red Hills, as is it said literal rivers of blood flowed amidst the sea of corpses that littered the ground.